A Desperate Leap from the Eleventh Street Bridge
A local logger attempted to end his life by jumping into the channel, while a would-be rescuer accidentally ended up in the bay himself during the chaos.
About 7 o'clock last night, Thomas Moore attempted to commit suicide by jumping from the Eleventh Street bridge into the water. When boats were sent to his rescue, the man fought off the boatmen, and for a time it was feared he would drown before he could be taken from the water. A few minutes previous to the time the leap was made, the gate on the bridge had been closed and the draw opened to allow the tug Falcon to pass through. Quite a large crowd had gathered to see the operations when Moore came running down Eleventh Street from Pacific Avenue. He climbed over the gate and leaped into the water. Messrs. Crawford, Bird and Bartlett rescued him using a boat hook, though Moore fought to get away. Kenneth Kirby, of the Inland Navigation Excursion Company, witnessed the leap and attempted to go to his rescue, but in getting into a boat, he missed his footing and fell headlong into the bay, where he was also rescued. Moore, about 35 years old and a logger, had been drinking heavily; he was placed under arrest by Captain Lawrence and taken to the police station.
“Moore seemed determined to die and fought hard to get away.”
The Eleventh Street bridge has long been a site of civic memory and tragedy in Tacoma. Suicide attempts and public rescues in the city's waterways were frequently reported in the early 1900s, often highlighting the struggle of itinerant laborers like the logger in this story.
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